This invention lies in the field of storing and shipping grain in loose bulk form and is directed to means and methods for initially loading, storing and delivering with a minimum amount of handling and transferring of the cargo and without damage to the grain itself.
The conventional systems for bringing grain, such as corn, wheat, and the like, from the point of harvest to the destination for processing are complicated and expensive and involve a substantial amount of damage to the grain. They also provide no suitable way of drying the grain to the desired level and protecting it from again picking up any undesired moisture.
Ordinarily, the grain is first loaded onto a truck in the field, after which it is dumped into a silo or other storage device. From there it is loaded onto trucks for shipping to railroad cars where it is again loaded onto the cars. At the destination it is again dumped. In the event that the destination is overseas, the railroad cars must be taken to a port where the grain is then reloaded into a ship. At the foreign port, the grain is again loaded from the ship onto other vehicles and transferred to a final destination for another dumping operation. With each loading or reloading, some of the grain is crushed and damaged, so that by the time it reaches its destination it is not of extremely high quality.